A Watery Tale
by FaylinnNorse
Summary: Darya woke up by the sea, one day, with no memory of her past. Will she ever find out who she really is? R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

My earliest memory was of waking up on the beach beside the sea. I was alone and had no memory of who or where I was. I was afraid, though I knew not of what, and I felt very, very alone. My clothes were just rags, tattered to pieces. I opened my eyes and was startled by the bright sun. Looking around me, I recognized nothing about the place.

That was when Korell came. Korell was an old man with a snowy white beard. He found me on his way to the village. He said that I had a small frame, dark hair, and huge blue-eyes. He said the way I looked around me with those big, blue-eyes was child-like and yet not. He said I was a beautiful girl.

Korell took me home and raised me as his own daughter. He guessed me to be about fifteen years old and he named me Darya, because it meant the sea. He taught me as much as an old man could about the world, and I loved him.

Korell died when I was seventeen. I cried and cried and finally ran to the sea, where I would feel at home, as I always did. The sea seemed to be everything to me. It was my comfort, my longing, my mystery. I couldn't understand the sea, but I loved it still.

An old woman was also by the beach when I went to seek solace from it. She smiled at me.

"One can never understand the great mystery that is the sea," she said to me. "It gives and it takes, it owes nothing to anyone and receives nothing."

"It's the only thing I have," I said.

She looked at me. "Ah, then you'd best find something else to own, Love. The sea can be loved, it can be hated, but it can't be owned. It's not a tame thing, the sea."

I didn't understand what she meant back then, at least, not like I do now.

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I honestly don't have a clue where I'm going with this, so if anyone else has any ideas, please send them to me! You can either PM or do it in the review, I don't really care. I don't know if I really want to get too far into this until I'm about done with Spy Princess, so I don't know if I'll update very soon, but I'll write more someday, I promise. By the way, I'll probably put up the next Spy Princess story sometime tomorrow. Anyway...reviews please!


	2. Chapter 2

"Just got to keep pulling it, Lass," Korell said, as we struggled to pull up the net that was filled with fish.

We pulled and pulled and finally yanked it into the boat. We both stood, just breathing.

"There, that wasn't so hard. When the fish are all swimming in the opposite direction you're pulling you just gotta keep your head about you and keep on pulling it up."

"I know. It's hard, though," I said.

"Yes, but think of the contrary. We'd lose all those fish and not have enough money to even buy our bread. So the lesson is: to pull, no matter what."

I laughed a bit. Korell placed so much importance on our catching fish.

I still remembered it, as I sat on the beach, as if it had been yesterday. I didn't know what to do without Korell. Being just a girl, I could not run Korell's fishing business my self. I had to find another job.

I became companion to Mrs. Rivers, a widow in the small village I lived in. I, more or less, got paid to talk to an old lady all day. It really wasn't a bad job, but I missed being out on the sea. Mrs. Rivers and I would sit out on her patio, and watch the green-blue waves go in and out from shore. I guess I must have stared at it, in some entranced sort of way, for Mrs. Rivers would often say that I looked like "some strange, wild thing."

On one such occasion, Mrs. Rivers had made the remark, but I had barely noticed. My thoughts were running wild. I had to leave. I wanted to do something, not just be a companion until I was too old to do anything exciting. And I wanted to be somewhere—somewhere where I could only see the sea, in every direction I looked.

"Mrs. Rivers," I outburst, "I—I can't do this anymore. I have to—to do something. I have to leave here, and make my life part of something bigger. I don't know if you understand, but I—I have to," I said.

Mrs. Rivers frowned. "But, Child, I—I."

"I'm sorry," I called to her as I ran out of her house. I took all of my things from Korell's house and ran to the larger harbor, for the big ships.

Once I got there, I slowed down and started to look at each of the ships. There were lots of men walking around there, all of them hard and weathered looking. They eyed me, frowning, most likely wondering what a girl like me was doing on the docks.

I walked past them, with my head held high. I wouldn't let them think I was their inferior in any way. I looked at each of the ships, taking note of their style and condition. Korell had taught me about ships. I knew which ones were the fastest and the most well-built.

Finally, one of the ships caught my eye. It was a longboat. On the bow there was a beautifully carved mermaid. I stared at it for the moment. From the moment I had first heard of mermaids, I was enchanted by them. The brilliant creatures that dwelt beneath the sea. I almost felt a connection to them, because they lived in the sea and I had come out of the sea.

"Can I help you?"

I looked up. A man was in front of me. He had dark hair and very blue eyes. He looked strangely familiar, though I knew I did not know him.

"Um—yes, actually, I—I want to—where is your ship going?"

"Augusta, in Dreyna," he said.

"Can I," I dropped my eyes, "can I come with you?" I asked, biting my lip.

He looked only slightly surprised and said, "Well, you'd have to take that up with the captain."

"Can you take me to him?"

"Sure," he said, sounding quite friendly. He led me onto the boat to the captain's quarters.

"Cap'n!" he called out at the door.

"Yes! What? What do ya want?" I could hear the captain calling from inside.

The blue-eyed man smiled at me and opened the door. He went inside and motioned for me to follow.

"She wants to come with us," he said simply.

The captain frowned. "She's a woman."

I was annoyed at the statement. "I'm not bad luck, Sir, I helped on my—father's boat for a long time!"

"Got money or do you plan to work?"

I wasn't sure what to say. I only knew a little bit about sailing from Korell's fishing boat, and I only had a little bit of money. "Both," I eventually said.

The blue-eyed man raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well," the captain said, laughing slightly, "if you're gonna pay me to work on my boat, yeah, sure, you can come with us!"

I felt rather like I had been cheated, but I handed over the money anyway. When the man saw the way I sailed, he wouldn't think he'd got the best of me.


	3. Chapter 3

Terribly sorry it took me so long to update. I've been focusing on Spy Princess lately, but I'm getting fairly close to finishing that one and then I will be sure to focus on this. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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The man with the blue eyes' name was Brennan. There were six other crew members, excluding Captain Morris. Their names were Lars, Gavin, Aidan, Sam, Dylan, and Benjamin. After they got over their initial superstitious fear of having a woman on board, they were all quite nice to me. Brennan always was the nicest, though. He spent the most time with me, teaching me to sail.

"No, no, you put that end through the other loop," he said to me.

Sighing I undid my knot and started to retie it all over again."

"Complicated, I know, knots usually are that way, but once you figure it out it's not so bad."

I smiled. "Like that?"

"Exactly. See, it's not so difficult."

I smiled.

"So, why did you decide to go sailor, but not get paid for it, instead paying Captain Morris to do it?"

I laughed. "I assure you, Brennan, that was not my intention when I left my village. I try not to consider it that I'm paying someone to do work, but that I'm paying someone to learn how to do something. As for my reasons for leaving, I just wanted to get away, see someplace new, have an adventure with my life, instead of wasting away in the same old village until I'm too old to have an desire to do anything."

Brennan looked at me for a moment. "You know, I know exactly what you mean. It's odd, Darya, but I almost feel as though I know you already, and you've only been on board the ship for a matter of days."

"I know. Me too." We looked at each other, a bit awkwardly for a moment, but then both of us smiled.

Oftentimes, when one of us would be assigned to watch in the crow's nest for the night, both of us would go. It was Brennan's idea, initially, but after a time we got so used to it, it was just natural. It was ridiculously crowded and usually felt like all of the rigging was going to collapse, but it was lots of fun.

We'd sit, and look at the stars, naming every constellation we knew and the story that went with it. We talked about other things, as well, I told him how I just appeared on the beach when I was fifteen. He said that was strange, but I did look rather water-nymphish. I just laughed at him.

He told me that he never knew who his real parents were either. He was in an orphanage, for as long as he could remember. When he finally got old enough, he took to the seas. It just seemed right for him.

In a short matter of time, I knew Brennan as well as I knew anybody. He was my best friend on the ship, and I'm quite sure that I was his. Sailing was bliss to me, until that day, the day that changed everything...

It wasn't a stormy day, just ridiculously wavy. I never got sea-sick from it, just dashed about on the rails. Eventually, it seemed that my being pounded on them weakened them, because I slid on top of it, and it broke beneath me, sending me diving into the sea.

I was quite shocked at being thrown head first into the cold water and didn't react very fast to it. When I finally did open my eyes, preparing to swim back to the surface, there were creatures all around me.

They all beautiful, if I had seen ever seen a mirror, I would have realized how similar they looked to myself. Their eyes were all the same color as the ocean, as were mine. Their skin was all light, almost transparent even. My skin was light as well, though it had seen the sun, unlike theirs.

They had all different color hair, and they kept reaching out their hands as if to touch me and see if I was really there. One might have been easily frightened by them, but I was not. They seemed so familiar to me. The whole feeling of being submerged in the ocean with them, while everything was so silent, was like something I'd done before.

Quicker than I would have wished, I felt strong arms around me. I was being pulled up to the surface. We came up, my rescuer coughing and sputtering. It was Brennan, of course. The sailors threw down a rope and pulled us back to the deck.

"Are you alright?" Brennan asked me, when he'd regained his breath.

I had no such trouble breathing. "I'm fine," I said. "But did you see them? Did you see the—the creatures, Brennan? They were lovely, and I'm sure they would not have let me drown."

Brennan looked confused. "Darya, I think you're just in shock, you should rest."

I ignored his recommendation and walked to the edge of the deck, looking out in wonder. I could almost imagine a face in the water, one of the creatures that had been by me, but I was not sure if it was real. Of course, I couldn't have just of hallucinated them, could I?

"Darya, I really think you should get some rest," Brennan said to me once again.

I nodded, and with one last look at the sea, went in to the room below the deck to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't see any of the creatures for a long time afterwards, and began to think that must have been merely my own imagination. Before I knew it, we were arriving in Augusta. I helped to dock and unload the ship, then prepared to take my leave. Brennan stopped me.

"Darya, where will you go now?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "Nowhere in particular."

He looked rather awkward. "I—uh—don't go, Darya, please."

I smiled. "I was hoping you would say that. Do you think Captain will want me on again for wherever he plans on going?"

"He told me the other day he would."

"Good. How long are we staying here?"

"However long Captain wants. Probably a week or so."

I nodded.

We turned out staying in Augusta for _two_ weeks. Captain Morris seemed to take his time selling the goods. Brennan and I spent the time exploring the city. During the day we'd go to all of the markets and curiosity shops we could find. Then in the evening we'd go to the beach and watch the stars come out.

On one such occasion, I decided I wanted to wade into the water. Brennan didn't feel like it, and stayed sitting on shore. I didn't realize where the drop off was and suddenly found myself up to my chin in water. That's when I saw her.

She rose out of the water, with an awed expression. She stared at me, with piercingly blue eyes. Her wet, dark hair clung to her body and her skin was pale and slippery looking, almost like that of a fish. She looked to be trying to speak to me, but like she could not find the words. She looked at Brennan then and waved her hand in his direction. I got the idea that she could not stay above water any longer, for she gasped for breath and disappeared beneath the surface.

I stood in the spot for a moment, before I came out of the water. I went to stand by Brennan. When I went, though, my legs felt—odd. As if, for some reason, they weren't as built for walking as they had been. I lifted up the leg of my trouser, and saw that my it was different. Lighter colored, and slippery. Like the girl's skin had been. I was about to say something to Brennan when my leg miraculously returned to the way it had been.

"Brennan, did you—did you see her?" I asked, feeling very confused.

"See who?" He looked confused.

I just shook my head. "I'm tired," I said. "I want to go to bed."

Brennan immediately stood up and we went back to the inn where we were staying. In truth, I could not sleep, though. After about an hour, I went back to the beach, hoping to see some sign of the girl and ask her what was going on.

Dawn was coming when I saw that I was not alone. It was not the girl that I had wished to see, though, it was a woman. She didn't look much older than me, but in her eyes was a wisdom beyond her outer appearance of youth. She had blue, sad-looking eyes. Her hair was jet black. She reminded me of the girls in the water, water-nymphs, as I had dubbed them.

The woman looked at me. I almost detected a hint of recognition in her eyes, but I could not be sure, as I certainly did not know her. "Darya," she said.

I jumped. I certainly did not know, the woman and yet she was calling me by name! "What! How do you know me!"

She shook her head. "I do not, other than by what you are."

"What I am? What are you talking about?"

She bit her lip. "I cannot say much but that all my hope rests in you and in my son."

"Your son?"

"The man you've been friends with, Brennan."

I looked at her with decided disbelief. Why, she could be not much older than I! "But you're—you certainly don't look old enough to be his mother."

"That's why I gave him up," she said quietly. "It wouldn't look right for me to be raising him...but that is unimportant now." She suddenly looked like she thought she had done something wrong. "I should not have spoken to you," she said. "I should have let time take do its work, but that is the problem. There is not much time left."

"Time...for what?"

"For you. And Brennan." I could see the unfallen tears in her eyes, but I did not understand her. What had suddenly made her so upset? And even if she was Brennan's mother, how did she know my name?

"I—I don't know what it is you speak of."

She seemed to recollect herself then. "No, you don't, and I cannot tell you. But my hope, yours, and that of all our sisters rest on you?"

"Our sisters? I'm not related to you."

"Never mind what I said. Just go back. To Brennan."

I frowned and slowly started to walk away.


	5. Chapter 5

"My mother?" Brennan repeated what I had said. I had gone to talk to him, directly, when I came back to the inn.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just telling you what happened!"

"Well, I believe you, I just think the woman's deluded."

"But she knew our names."

"Well, maybe she heard us talking to each other. Anyways, Darya, you've been up all night. You should try to get some sleep."

I reluctantly agreed and went to my own room. Surprisingly, I fell asleep quite fast, and was soon gone in the dream world.

"Korell, what do you know about water nymphs?"

"Water nymphs? Not much, Lass, no one knows much about them. They live in the sea, and they love it more than anything."

"Does the sea love them back?" I ask.

"Indeed, it does. In fact, I think that if they ever loved anything else more than the see, it might be quite jealous. It loves them so much, though, that I don't think it could ever be entirely cruel to them."

The memory played over and over again in my sleeping mind. I couldn't understand why. It was just a short, meaningless conversation, and while all conversations with Korell were now dear to me, I didn't see why I was dreaming about it. None of it had much to do with my life now. Except, of course, the water nymphs.

The next day, I was not in very good spirits. I didn't understand what was going on, and I didn't like it. Mostly, it was just Brennan's "mother" that upset me. I didn't like the idea of having everyone's hope on me. Brennan, however, seemed to deem it his purpose to cheer me up.

"Darya, I'm going to take you to a jewelry store and buy you anything you want. Then, I'm going to buy you some chocolate, and afterwards concede to do whatever you want to do."

I smiled. "If you say so."

"Which I do."

We walked the short distance to the jewelry store. I was lost in thought and didn't say much. We went inside and wandered about, just looking at everything. My eye caught on a necklace. It was a silver chain, with just one bead. The bead was blue and green and the colors waved about, giving one the distinct feeling of tossing on the waves at sea.

I was immediately entranced by it. Brennan, seeing that I had obviously picked it, took it to the front desk. I was semi-aware of it being a rather large sum of money, but Brennan paid the man quickly, and handed me the necklace.

Then we got the chocolate. I shared some of it with Brennan, but ate most of it myself. It was delicious.

"So what do you want to do now?" Brennan asked me.

"I really don't know," I answered truthfully.

In the end, we decided to do nothing very different, but go to the sea-side again. We walked on the shore, talking of books, music, life. We knew each other so well, and were so alike.

I felt his hand gently touch mine, then clasp it in his own. I looked up at him, slightly startled.

"Darya," he whispered.

I smiled.

He kissed me on the cheek. It was fast; we had only known each other for a month or so, and yet he already felt so familiar to me.

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Am I handling the love story horribly? I kind of feel like I am, but I can't seem to think of anything for them to do or talk about. If anyone has any good ideas for romantic moments, please include them in your review! And I suppose I might as well put this up even though I haven't really used the story much yet.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Little Mermaid


	6. Chapter 6

I had another strange dream. This time it was with the woman that had been on the beach with me when Korell died. And this time it wasn't a memory, it was something that had never happened.

"The sea and the earth are constantly at war with each other," the woman said. "They both fight fiercely, but neither will ever win. They cannot be convinced to stop, though. For neither of them are at all tame."

I awoke with a start and sat up in my bed. I didn't know why I kept having these dreams about the sea. They had, as far as I could tell, nothing to do with me. I tried to go back to sleep. I succeeded, but not without being troubled by yet another dream.

It was about the woman, who claimed to be Brennan's mother. She was weeping, kneeling in the surf by the sea. Then she turned to look at me.

"Darya, you must save us! And not just myself, but you as well, and those who have not yet come to land! I have held out longer than any of those before me, but soon the curse shall have its fill of me. And then you."

Again, I was jerked awake. The other dreams were simple conversations, but this, this was frightening. A curse? On me? I didn't like it. I shivered. I was glad that we were leaving on the following day.

It was a delightfully sunny day when we loaded up the ship and set sail. I was glad to be out at sea again. It felt like home. I climbed up on the rigging and hung, just staring out at the endless blue, and where it met the horizon. It was amazing, really.

After a while, I climbed down again. Brennan came to stand beside me.

"Glad to be sailing again?" he asked me.

"Very," I answered. "And you?"

He nodded. "Especially since the town didn't seem to agree with you."

I smiled, but it faded soon after, as I thought again of the dreams, the woman on the beach, and the water nymph. It was intriguing, troubling, and just plain strange. I wanted to know what was going on, and yet I had a sense of foreboding, that maybe it would be better not to know.

Our second night at sea, a terrible storm came upon us. The wind howled away and ripped at the sails. We had to take them down, or risk having the mast be torn from the boat. When that was done, there was not much to do but wait it out.

I was preparing to go below deck, when an enormous wave sent the boat, nearly tipping over. I was thrown to the side, the side where the rail had not been repaired. I tried desperately to grab onto something, anything, but there was nothing. I fell into the cold, tumultuous ocean. Something hard, I thought it was probably a board, smacked my head. It was the last thing I remember about the storm.

I woke up on the shore of someplace. It was a misty morning. The cold waves were lapping around my legs. I was covered in sand. It reminded me all too well of when I first woke up, with no memories. At least I knew who I was this time.

I pushed myself to my knees, and saw that Brennan was lying next to me. At first I was worried he might be dead, but thankfully I saw that he was breathing. I crawled over to him.

"Brennan," I shook him.

He jumped. "Darya?" He looked around. "Where are we?"

"Shipwrecked," I replied. "Who knows where."


	7. Chapter 7

We spent most of that entire day walking around on the beach. First we set a large tree branch upright in the sand, so that we would recognize it when we got back to the spot. Then we started off, walking on the shore. We found that we were, in fact, on an island. We estimated it to be about twenty miles around, give or take a few. We thought that we could walk at least four miles in an hour, and that we walked for about five hours.

The strange thing about the island was that it was never sunny. I don't think the sun ever came out in the entire time that we were there. It was always foggy, as if a cloud had claimed the island to be its homeland.

On the second day, we went inland, but there was not much to see. It was just hills after hills. We did find some fruit, though, and a stream of fresh water. We tried to start a fire, but everything was damp and it would not light. We were stuck.

"Well, Darya, looks like we'll be staying here for a while," Brennan remarked, as we sat upon the beach.

I nodded. "At least until another ship comes this way."

There was a crack of thunder in the distance. Brennan and I glanced at each other. We were in for a wet night.

The wind howled and pushed at us, as if trying to force us back to the sea. Rain pounded down on us, as if it meant to drown us in a watery death. We huddled together, in a desperate attempt to keep warm.

"Darya," Brennan whispered into my hair.

"What?"

"This storm really, and being on this island, isn't really very pleasant."

"No, it's certainly not," I agreed with him.

"But—I'm glad I'm with you," he said.

I smiled onto his shoulder. "Me too," I said softly.

In the middle of the night, the wind was still roaring, and the waves of the sea were up past my head. Brennan and I were trying to sleep in the dryest spot we could find, which was not very dry. I left him asleep, close to where I had been lying. I stood up and started to walk towards the sea.

It was, perhaps, the oddest thing I have ever experienced. I had no idea why I was going to the sea, and indeed it did not seem like a very good idea if I had tried at all to reason. But I felt like I had to go, like it was calling to me. When I got to the surf, the waves slammed into my knees and up around my thighs. I paused for a moment, just looking out. Then I continued walking into the water.

"Darya!" it was Brennan.

I looked back at him, then back to the sea. I was mesmerized by it. When I didn't turn back, Brennan ran out to me, grabbed my arm, and dragged me back to shore.

He grabbed my shoulders. "What are you doing!"

I opened my mouth, then shut it. I looked back at the sea. Brennan grabbed my chin, forcing my gaze away from the ocean.

"What are you doing?" he asked again, this time slightly softer.

"I—I don't know," I said at last.

Brennan's face showed all the confusion I felt.

I bit my lip. I was frightened, slightly. I had just very nearly walked out to sea, and to the crashing waves. I had nearly killed myself, with absolutely no reason. I hadn't even wanted to, I just...I didn't even know.

I didn't notice the tear on my cheek until I felt Brennan brush it away. He pulled me close to him. He was warm, and comforting.

"It's okay. Just—don't—don't do that again, okay? You scared me."

"I know. I scared myself."

I relaxed in Brennan's arms, letting myself just breathe.


	8. Chapter 8

On the following morning, Brennan watched me closely.

"I'm not going to walk out to sea and drown myself, Brennan," I finally said.

He blinked. "Darya, I'm sorry if it appears that I don't trust you, it's just..."

I smiled. "I know. But I'm fine. Really."

He nodded. "Just don't—go too close to the ocean."

"I love the ocean, Brennan, you cannot keep me from it!" I said.

"I know, I know," he said, but I could see that he was still wary.

The experience had frightened me, more than I could say, but I wanted to forget about it. I felt no urge to throw myself into the deep and drown; I was fine. It almost looked like the sun would come out. It never did, but it was the feeling that made the difference.

A few days on the island went by uneventfully. We just survived. We made no effort to get off the island, we just lived on it. After a time, we had almost forgotten about the incident of the night of the storm. It was in the past.

"Let's go swimming," I said to Brennan.

"Swimming?"

"Yes, I haven't gone for a while, and, well, I miss it."

"Alright."

We started to wade into the sea. I was ahead of Brennan and fully submerged myself just moments after getting in. The sea water felt fresh and cold. I felt like I could swim better than I ever could before. I swam a few strokes before coming up for air.

When I up to the surface, Brennan looked startled to see me.

"Darya?" he said, sounding nervous.

"Yes?"

"You look—different."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I certainly didn't feel much different.

He stared at me. "Well, your—your skin is whiter and—silky looking. And your eyes are, well, bluer than I've ever seen them—"

I looked at the skin on my arm. It was slippery, just like the water nymphs had been. I couldn't see my eyes, but I trusted Brennan's description of them. This was why I felt like I could swim so well. I seemed to be turning into one of them—one of the water nymphs.

I didn't understand. I had some strange connection with them, and with the sea. Was this the curse the woman spoke of? Cursed to become a water nymph? It didn't make sense, not with everything else she had said.

I strode out of the ocean and stood on shore, watching my skin slowly turn back to normal. Brennan came out as well. He didn't say anything at first, just waited for me to meet his eyes.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, Brennan," I said.

"Nothing is wrong with you. You're just—different."

I looked at him. "Well, I don't want to be different!"

"Darya..."

I bit my lip. "I don't know what's happening to me. After Korell died, and I met you, well, everything just seemed to fall apart. I don't understand!"

I pushed myself into his arms. I wanted to feel something—something solid and steady and certain. Something that wouldn't leave me, or turn me into something I didn't want to be. Brennan was just right.


	9. Chapter 9

Ava, the woman who claimed to be Brennan's mother, stood by the sea. Her cries came in sudden sobs, breaking through the silence. She looked at me. She looked desperate and miserable. I felt like I had failed her, though I had done nothing. Then she ran into the sea and disappeared into the foaming waves. I stood, shocked.

I started awake with something like gasp. My breath was coming in quick rasps.

"Are you alright?" Brennan asked, awake beside.

I breathed deeply, to slow down my pounding heart. "I'm fine," I said.

As soon as I heard his breathing become even, I stood up and walked away from where we were sleeping. I walked to the hills, but they provided no comfort. I felt so alone. I didn't want to go back to sleep for fear of dreams. Not that they were nightmares, but they troubled me just as much. I did not understand, and I didn't like it. It seemed that there was something I should have been doing, but I knew not what.

This dream had upset me more than the others. It had appeared that Ava had drowned herself, though I hoped desperately that it was not true. And the way she had looked at me, like I could have done something to prevent it.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself. I could hear the gentle lapping of the sea, even from where I stood far inland. I walked to the shore and down a far length of the island. Soon came dawn and the sun brightened the world through the clouds.

I did not think of going back to Brennan. It wasn't that I was avoiding him, I just wanted to be alone. I was sure he would understand and hoped he would not worry.

I stood looking out at the sea. Before it had been grey, but today it shone out a bright blue. I stared out the horizon, that beautiful and unreachable place. I wondered what it would be like if you could find the horizon, where the sky met the water, both living in perfect harmony with one another.

After a time, I started to walk back towards where Brennan would be. When I got close, I stopped to look at the sea once more. I loved it. It filled me with such a calm feeling. It was like home. I wanted it so bad. I wanted to be in it, forever. To feel the cool waves wash over me, to be a part of it. As strange as it seemed, I almost felt ready to throw myself into it, much the same as Ava had. I loved the sea so much it hurt.

I start to slowly walk into the water, relishing the feeling of the waves washing the sand out from beneath my feet. But when I saw my skin begin to transform again, I pulled myself away and back to shore.

I swallowed. "I just want to know what's happening to me!" I shouted out to the sea.

There was no answer, but the eddying waves and the cry of seagulls. With a sigh, I kept walking. From a few hundred feet away, I could see Brennan carrying wood from the inland to the beach. To start a fire for signaling a ship, like we had tried to do earlier. I watched him, and finally walked over to him, to make sure he didn't think I'd walked into the sea and drowned myself like I nearly did the night of the storm.

He looked glad to see me. "Where have you been? I was a little worried, but I thought I would have woken up if you did anything—drastic.

"I just took a walk around the island."

He nodded. "Are you alright? When you woke up last night, you sounded very—frightened."

"I was—a little. But I'm ok now. I think I'll walk a bit more."

He nodded his approval. "I'll just keep finding dry wood."

I walked on the beach, to where some big, black boulders were sticking out of the water. I waded a little, to where I could get up on one of them. From there I jumped from one to another until I got to the farthest one out at sea.

I watched the sea, occasionally spotting small fish come up close to the surface. I smiled. I wondered about what was going on—why I had such strange dreams and why I seemed to turn into a water nymph when I went into the water.

I suddenly saw something in the water, and it was definitely not a fish. A girl—a water nymph to be exact—came up to the surface and pulled herself onto the rock next to me. She stared at me with her bright blue eyes, and I observed the slippery, transparent look of her skin. Exactly how Brennan had described me looking.

She looked like she was going to faint, when she grabbed her necklace, which was a large conch shell. She held it up by her nose and breathed deeply. She looked much revived.

"Darya," she finally said in a strange voice. It was musical, in a way, though it was hardly above a whisper.

The strange fact that she knew my name hardly even registered. I was entranced by her. She was beautiful and I felt a strange link to her.

"Darya," she said yet again, then she took another breath of her conch shell.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I am Nadia."

I nodded slightly.

She looked as if it was taking a great effort to speak to me. "Recently you have nearly thrown yourself to the sea," she said.

"I know, I know, I just don't know what's happening to me anymore, I—"

"You cannot do that," she said softly, yet forcibly.

"I—why?"

She took a deep breath from the conch shell again, as though it were a sweet-smelling flower, but I got the idea that it was what was keeping her alive above the surface.

"It is an age old story, the curse of the water nymphs. You must break the curse, Darya, for all of us."

"Well, what is the curse?"

"Tis a long story."

"I have time."

She pursed her lips slightly. "Very well," she said.

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Was last chapter like bad or something? I only got one review. I guess I've only had it up for one day though, so I shouldn't be so concerned. Anyway, the next chapter is the end of the story! If I get some reviews I'll put it up quicker, like maybe tomorrow, but if not I'll wait until Monday or Tuesday.


	10. Chapter 10

"It all started with one water nymph," Nadia began. "Her name was Maya, and she fell in love with a human man. She was the belle of the seas, more beautiful than you could imagine. The sea loved her better than anyone else. When it was found that instead of exploring the depths of the ocean, she spent most of her time at the surface, staring at the man she loved, Dylan, the sea was very jealous. Yet it also wished very much for her happiness. So it spit her up onto land, to find her love, but it left her with no memories. She found Dylan just the same. They seemed to be drawn together and loved each other deeply. But the earth would not have it. The earth and the sea are always at odds. The earth does not find it fair that the sea covers so much of the earth and that it can drown out the land so easily. The earth made it its mission to drive Maya and Dylan apart. It used the one weapon they could not find against. The sea itself. Maya loved the sea, and though she could not remember her past with it, the wanting for it drove her to despair. She ran out to it, but she was a water nymph no longer and could not swim as she once had. She drowned in the waves."

I had been in a trance while listening to Nadia, but as she paused, I had time to think about the story, and how much it resembled my own life. Spit up on shore with no memories? Drawn to a certain man, but still in love with the sea? It was me all over. "But how is it a curse?" I asked.

Nadia sighed. "I can't say, exactly. Somehow the earth has cursed us, has forced us to replay Maya's fate again and again. Every fifteen years a water nymph is spit up on shore with no memories. She falls in love with a man who seems to be perfect for her, but ends up drowning in her love of the sea. You met Ava, yes?"

I nodded. "And I had a dream, a dream that she..." I shifted uncomfortably.

Nadia hung her head. "Yes, the curse had just recently been fulfilled once more. However, she endured the sea-wanting longer than anyone ever had. She got married and had a son, even."

"Brennan."

"Yes. He is from the sea, same as you. That is why it is believed that you can break the curse."

"But how?"

"Just resist it, Darya. Love Brennan, more than you love the sea. Don't let yourself fall into the familiar waves of the sea."

I nodded, hesitantly. "I will—try," I said, but the task seemed near to impossible. How could I break a curse that had been going on for who knows how long?

"And you will succeed," Nadia said adamantly.

She took another breath from her conch shell.

We stared at each other a moment longer. Then she got a startled look on her face and whipped her head around, in the direction of Brennan.

"What is it?" I asked.

She glanced at me. "You must go! Back to Brennan, and quickly!"

I was confused, and without hardly knowing what I was doing, I got to my feet and started to jump from rock to rock, back to the shore. I ran as fast as I could. I could tell that something was urgent, though I knew not what.

The rocks were rough on my bare feet, cutting into them as I lost all caution. Then I was on the sand, running through it, kicking it up in clouds around my ankles. I had to get to Brennan. It was the only thing I was aware of.

He was swimming, out far from shore. He appeared to be fine, laughing and splashing.

"Darya!" he called to me when he saw that I was looking at him. "Come and join me!"

I felt cold and numb. The sea was starting to form huge, crashing waves. I watched them toss around, breaking against each other, causing mass confusion. There was a whirlpool that could catch one in its currents and hold one under until all hope of returning to land was lost. It was farther out than Brennan, but quickly moving to the calmer, shallower areas.

I wanted to scream out a warning, but I couldn't move. I was scared. More scared than with the dreams, more scared than when I was turning into a water nymph. Brennan, _my_ Brennan, was likely going to drown. And all I could do was watch.

Brennan could hear the waves before they got to him. He turned around and stared at them. Then they smacked against him. I could hear his yells above the deafening waves. I seemed to break out of my trance.

"Brennan!" I screamed.

I ran to the sea. I had to save him. He'd been there for me, so many times, I had to be there for him now. But I knew I would never survive the whirlpool. I stood up to my thighs in the water, preparing myself to go and try to save him anyway.

Nadia burst out of the water beside me.

I looked at her. "What's going on?" I asked her. "I thought the earth wanted to kill me, not Brennan!"

"Things are different because he is born of a water nymph. More different than we had thought. You were strong, Darya, you could have withheld the curse. I think the earth realized that, so they chose another way to hurt you. Brennan," Nadia looked downcast. "There is no hope now. The curse has succeeded."

_No. No. It can't be._ I remember her earlier words, _Just resist it, Darya. _I had to resist it. Even if it was too late. I had to save Brennan, but even if I could not, I had to save the water nymphs, my sisters, from this terrible, terrible curse.

I threw myself at the waves and swam for all I was worth.

"Darya!" I could hear Nadia shout my name, but I ignored her. I had to do this.

I swam right into the whirlpool, trying desperately to find Brennan in the swirls of water. The current dragged me down. After a while, I could not swim anymore. It pulled and pulled at me. I felt like all of the air was being squeezed from my lung. I started to feel light headed.

That's when I saw them. My sisters, the water nymphs. They surrounded me, all of them that lived in the seven seas, it seemed. They were all around me, gazing at me with their bright eyes. They seemed to give me life, breathe for me in that close knit circle of sisters, of family. I felt a deep bond with them, and more at home than I ever had. The water seemed to pulse around me, in rhythm with my breathing, for somehow I was breathing now. That was the last thing I remember about being underwater.

I woke up on the shore. The water was around me, dragging out the sand from beneath me. It was so much like all the other times. But this time there was no Korell to take care of me, no Brennan to be with me. I was all alone.

The memories flooded back to me. I cried softly, the hot tears overflowing in multitudes. I knew Brennan was lost to me forever. But I also knew I had broken the curse. It was like the knowledge had been placed in my by the water nymphs. I had resisted the curse, even though it didn't mean happily ever after. Even though Brennan had died, even though I was a human and could never return to the sea, I had at least broken the curse. For them, my sisters.

I stood up shakily and looked out at the sea. I still loved it, but not in the innocent way I had before. I had a newfound respect for it. The woman on the beach's words rang true, _it's not a tame thing, the sea. _ It certainly wasn't. Nadia had spoke of the curse of the earth, but in the end, it was the sea that had taken Brennan from me. It was the sea that all of those water nymphs had drowned in.

I still loved it, though, I always would. It was part of who I was. A water nymph.

I looked in to shore. I wasn't all alone on an island; this was a land with people. And I recognized it. It was the village, where I had lived with Korell. I was glad to be somewhere familiar.

I looked out to the sea one last time, before preparing to go inland, to the village. As I looked, several girls came up out of the water. They had shining blue eyes, and that slippery skin. The water nymphs. They raised their hands to me in greeting and recognition. They were grateful for what I had done for them, but more than that, they were my sisters. Even if I could never be with them, they would remain my sisters forever.

I put up my hand as well, waving to them slightly. I smiled in a sad way. Their expressions were the same as mine. After most of them had ducked back underwater, I sighed and turned away. I would go home, to Korell's house. And there I would live, and think of all that had happened to me, till the end of my days.


End file.
